Disposable wipes that are wetted in various solutions for general cleaning and/or disinfecting are currently available in the marketplace. People use these wipes on themselves or others and use them on various items to be cleaned and disinfected. While such wipes are useful in killing any bacteria present on the item that is wiped, they do not prevent bacteria from subsequently collecting on the item that was wiped, and thus do not “treat” the surface of the item.
Published U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0042198 A1 discloses an antimicrobial substrate and a method and composition for producing it. This publication discloses that the substrate may take many different forms including that of a wipe. As explained further below, such a wipe uses a “reacted” organosilicon antimicrobial substance and thus is not useful for treating a surface of an item.